The Wake

Scientists recently shot a bus-sized rocket into the moon in a search for evidence of ice and water on the moon.

The moon bombing commenced at 6:31 a.m. central time, and did not deliver the explosion that was expected by NASA, and that most of the amateur astronomers were watching for.

The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS, began by orbiting around the earth, then shooting a rocket into the Cabeus crater of the moon. The first rocket was followed by a second that slammed into the same area of the moon. The Cabeus crater is 60 miles wide, and situated near the south pole.

A large plume of debris was expected after the collision, and was supposed to be visible from earth through a 10-inch or larger telescope. This led many home-astronomers to wake up very early for a bit of a disappointment.

The reason for a lack of visible debris is unclear. It is possible that the rocket hit a slope or a rocky area and that the debris was not tossed high enough to reach sunlight.

Though many watching the moon attack were disappointed, scientists were very excited about the initial findings. The LCROSS used spectrometers, apparatuses that take light and break it down into wavelengths to then analyze these wavelengths for changes caused by microscopic vapor and particles. These spectrometers collected data before and after the crash and observed changes. It is possible for the spectrometers to have identified water and other elements, but it will take weeks to be fully analyzed.

The true highlight of the launch was to happen afterward. While watching the live launch on the NASA channel, amateur astronomer Bob Foucault observed, “After the rockets went, everyone was celebrating and talking to each other, except this one guy who was packing up his computer. He walked over near these other two young-ish guys and put his hand out, like for a hand shake or something. The younger guy then put his hand up, you know, like a high five. But the old guy just looked at him funny and then grabbed his computer cord and left. And the two guys just kind of looked at each other like ‘What’s his problem?’”